Interview With Switzerland’s Indie Rockers The Dandies

(photo by Patrick Bussmann)

Hailing from Lucerne, Switzerland, indie garage outfit The Dandies, is rocking and rolling its way onto the international music scene. The band; Adrian Weber (vocals/rythym guitar), brother Eric Weber (lead guitar/vocals), and Fabian Voirol (drums); blends quintessential aspects of indie, garage, and punk to produce electrifyingly rock songs. Having crushed their recent appearance at SXSW and recorded with Grammy-nominated producer Chris “Frenchie” Smith, The Dandies show no signs of stopping before they achieve world domination. We tracked down Adrian and forced him to answer a few of our questions on writing songs, life on the road, and what’s up next for his kickass band.

Sovereign Sound (SS):Give us some insight into the songwriting process.

Adrian Weber (AW): Mostly, I, or my brother (lead guitarist), Eric, come up with a basic idea for a song. May that be a chord progression, a riff, or a vocal line or lyric. Once the idea sounds good enough it is pitched to the rest of the band. From then we all try to contribute to make the song a team effort, if you know what I mean. For us that works out best and everyone is happy because everyone has been a part of the process and a song is something we created together, not just one person.

SS:What’s the weirdest thing that’s ever inspired a song?

AW: That’s a hard one. Probably an argument over food; we were arguing abut what to eat. Prior to the argument I had completely different lyrics. After the argument I was inspired by the anger we could get over something stupid like what to eat in the studio. It inspired me to write a complete different set of lyrics. The lyrics are now darker than the first ideas but they probably are some of my favourite lyrics to sing now.

SS: How do you stay sane when you’re in the studio recording an album?

AW: I guess it is important to stick together and always remind each other why you’re there and what the goal is. Another important thing is to give each other some space. Be the best friends you are but give each other some space and support each other when needed. It’s kinda the life I’d imagine a young couple or family having when they first move in together.

SS:If you’re music could talk (outside the lyrics) what would it say?

AW: It would say to enjoy your life and do what you want. Bob Dylan once said: “A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night. And in between he did what he wanted!” or something like that. I only read that quote recently, but I feel if our music could talk, that’s what it would say. Give or take.

SS: What’s one thing you can’t do without while on tour?

AW: Our Manager. Haha.

SS:What do you miss most about home while you’re on the road?

AW: I miss my own bed and the fact that I really can do what I want when I want. You’re not really tied down to a certain schedule. You can plan your day when you wake up in the morning or even later. You can’t do that when your playing gigs and sleeping at hotels. I guess you miss that family feel, the intimacy is what you really miss.

SS:If your music was the soundtrack to a movie, which one would it be?

AW: A movie like Animal House I guess. Not for any particular reason. For example, one of the early scenes, where the two dudes walk up to the delta frat house. A mannequin comes flying out of the window and ‘Louie Louie’ by the Kingsmen starts. It would be awesome if that was our song. That would be damn cool. If time wasn’t an issue because we weren’t even born when that movie came out!

SS:What’s next for The Dandies?

AW:We’re supporting Band of Skulls soon which we’re really excited about. Also we’re playing 3 gigs in London mid October. Check out our MySpace for details. After that we’re really ready to take the next big step so we hope you’ll hear a lot more from us in the near future!

SS: If you could have anyone in the world be a giant fan of The Dandies, who would it be?

AW: It would have to be one of the bands that influenced us heavily. Like Kings of Leon, The Strokes or BRMC. I think you couldn’t have a better fan than the people who made you want to be in a band! It would be a sort of approval I guess, that we’re doing a good job.